The Spitfire was a well known combat aircraft during WW2, and was so successful that a Mk 24 had been made by wars end. In
the early stages, the Spit was equipped with a Merlin engine. The Mk. 12 had the first of the Griffon engines. It's single
stage engine suited it as a low altitude fighter. The Mk. 14 had a new airframe developed to fit a 2 stage version of the
Griffon engine. This version produced 2035 hp, resulting in a maximum speed increase of 35mph. The most visible change
between the early variants was the five blade propellor and the bubble canopy. The FR version modeled by Academy was a
fighter reconnaissance which had an F.24 Camera located behind the cockpit.
My first impression upon opening the box was beautiful. Finely engraved panel lines, light grey plastic, a clear canopy of
reasonable thickness and a set of markings for NH895 in 451 Squadron. The eight page instruction booklet provided clear step
by step diagrams. This kit shares the same parts trees as the previous C version. It includes a new tree for the cut down
fuse, and extra parts for the clipped wing tips with a 20mm cannon. The kit gives the choice of an open or closed gun
compartment in the wing. The pilots door may also be opened.
I always start by painting the canopy and cockpit first. I carefully masked the line, and using Humbrol matt light green
(#120), sprayed the interior color. Using plastic sheet and rod, I super detailed the cockpit. Radio panels, elevator trim
tab, buttons on the side panel, various other controls and additional wiring were all added. The gunsight was replaced with
thinner clear plastic. Don't forget to drill holes behind the rack of the seat. The seat will require some putty to fill
sink marks. The cockpit was painted in the same light green. Weathering was added using raw umber oil paint. The wing joint
may have a gap, so use caution. I moved the control surfaces to make the model more interesting. I also drilled the cannons,
filled the ammo ejection holes, drilled the exhaust vents and thinned the propellor.
I finished the aircraft as one flown by Johny Johnson MV268 in early 1945. This particular machine used a non-clipped wing
and did not have the camera on both sides of the fuselage. A two tone camouflage was applied using Humbrol dark green (#163)
and extra dark sea grey (#164) with a medium sea grey (#35) under side. I suggest waiting at least a day before spraying a
gloss coat. I replaced the kit decals with ones by Aeromaster, and stencils from superscale. After another day of drying
time, oil paints were used to weather the aircraft. An overall flat coat (#49) finished this project.
I spent 40 hours on this one and enjoyed every minute. For around $30 a nice Spit straight from the box can be built.
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